Inside Unmanned Systems

APR-MAY 2018

Inside Unmanned Systems provides actionable business intelligence to decision-makers and influencers operating within the global UAS community. Features include analysis of key technologies, policy/regulatory developments and new product design.

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42 April/May 2018 unmanned systems
inside
SPECIAL REPORT NASA TECHNOLOGY
rience for passengers, so we need to focus
on seating arrangements and windows.
For cargo, you need to make the vehicle
easy to load and unload and to optimize
the payload, but fundamentally the two
are not different."
Bell has used helicopters for logis-
tics for years, Drennan said, and is also
looking into this area with its autono-
mous aircraft. In fact, the passenger air
taxi the company is developing can be
used to transport cargo; it's just a mat-
ter of taking out the passenger seat.
They're also working on a second ve-
hicle type that's dedicated to logistics.
Depending on the model, A PT,
which stands for autonomous pod
transport, will be able to carry 15 to
1,000 pounds of cargo for same day
delivery. APT has already completed
successful test f lights, Drennan said.
One of the challenges that comes
with cargo delivery is interfacing with
various logistics customers, Drennan
said. Different warehouses and retail
centers will likely have different sys-
tems for picking up and dropping off
packages, so the vehicles will need to
be able to work within those systems.
The entire process will be automat-
ed, Drennan said, including the inven-
tory system.
"An automated inventory system
will load the vehicle as it's sitting on the
vertiport. The vehicle will take off with
the package and land at the distribu-
tion center, where a similar autono-
mous inventory system will unload the
aircraft and then put another package
on, or unload the power system and
put a new power system on the vehicle,"
Drennan said. "It could be a manual
process, but we can enhance efficien-
cies if the f light portion and the pack-
age exchange are both automated."
It's more difficult for these types of
aircraft to deliver packages to specific
houses, but Drennan sees kiosks as
a solution to that. The aircraft could
drop off items at the neighborhood ki-
osks for later pick up, rather than right
outside someone's doorstep.
THE CHALLENGES
While air taxis offer a host of benefits—
from shortening travel times to reduc-
ing emissions to enabling faster, more
efficient cargo deliveries—there are still
hurdles to get past before UAM can
become a reality. Developing a UTM
system that enables these vehicles to
communicate with each other as well
as other aircraft is probably the biggest
challenge, but there are others the com-
munity is addressing. For example, these
systems need to be able to reliably oper-
ate no matter the weather conditions
and be able to execute contingency plans
in case there's an unexpected incident,
Kopardekar said.
"What happens if a bird strikes the
aircraft? How does it safely navigate
or make a decision to land if there's no
pilot on board? The aircraft needs to
be connected to a system," Kopardekar
said. "Making sure these operations
are going to be safe and able to handle
contingencies is key."
Certification also will be a challenge,
Drennan said. These are new propul-
sion systems and new vehicles that
have never been certified before. To en-
sure their safe operation, they'll need
to comply with federal regulations that
are yet to be crafted—which represents
another hurdle.
The aircraft will have to meet very
high security and safety standards,
Treeck said. The FA A and other au-
thorities are working on this now, but it
will take a while before such standards
are in place.
Then, of course, there's the bat-
teries. Today's batteries only last for
so long without needing to be re-
charged or swapped out, Treeck said.
The Volocopter, for example, usually
needs to be charged after every f light.
Eventually, she'd like to see the aircraft
only needing a boost or replacement
after maybe five f lights.
Every vertiport will have charging sta-
tions, Drennan said, and the amount of
time it takes to get the aircraft back in
the skies will depend on the type of vehi-
cle, its payload and the distance it needs
to travel. The goal, of course, is to re-
charge the vehicles as quickly as possible
to keep the flight cadence high. What's
known as rapid charge is an option, but
that method can be hard on batteries.
On the logistics side, the Bell sys-
tem is modular enough it doesn't have
to wait to be recharged; it's simply a
matter of swapping out the batteries,
Drennan said. There's no need for fast
charging or to wait for a cycle to com-
plete before f lying.
AN AUTOMATED INVENTORY SYSTEM
WILL LOAD THE VEHICLE AS IT'S
SITTING ON THE VERTIPORT. THE
VEHICLE WILL TAKE OFF WITH
THE PACKAGE AND LAND AT THE
DISTRIBUTION CENTER, WHERE A
SIMILAR AUTONOMOUS INVENTORY
SYSTEM WILL UNLOAD THE AIRCRAFT
AND THEN PUT ANOTHER PACKAGE
ON, OR UNLOAD THE POWER SYSTEM
AND PUT A NEW POWER SYSTEM
ON THE VEHICLE,"
Scott Drennan,
director of innovation for Bell Helicopter
"